Tag Archives: oven repair

Oven Repair And Safety Tips

oven repair

While the oven is very valuable at making the workings of the restaurant possible, it can cause plenty of accidents. People can get burnt in the process of cooking and if you aren’t keen enough, you can start a fire.

Due to the hazards that come with having the unit in your home or place of work, oven repair professionals recommend that you put oven safety tips in place. To help you out, here are some of the things you should do to ensure that you are safe when using the oven:

Be cautious when cooking

Everything starts here. There is no way you are going to be safe if you aren’t keen when preparing your meals. Always ensure that the stove and oven hood are s safely and correctly installed.

Do the staff have long hair? Make them understand that they need to keep it tied at the back all the time. They also should tuck in any loose clothing. When moving pots and pans, use protective hot mitts all the time.

At all times, keep the pot handles facing inwards. This is to prevent them from getting bumped into or knocked off the stove top. Some people use the stove as a storage space. Don’t do this.

Keep the oven clean

Keeping the oven clean not only leaves it looking great, it also prevents a fire from coming about. Grease and debris from the cooking can easily ignite, causing a fire. When spills come about, you should get rid of them immediately.

At the end of the working day, even if there aren’t any spills, you should still clean the oven and get rid of any dirt or debris that might be there.

Oven experts also recommend that you regularly run the self-cleaning function on the oven. Before you run the feature, wipe and scrape out any large messes, especially the greasy ones.

If you haven’t used the feature before, you should know that it’s simply a function of the unit going at maximum heat. This means that if the unit has excess grease in it, it’s bound to start a fire.

Due to the dangers that come with having the self-cleaning feature, you should never allow the feature to run in your absence. Always supervise its workings

Don’t line the oven with aluminum foil

Lining the bottom of the oven with aluminum foil is a great way to catch drippings, right? Wrong. Oven maintenance professionals report that doing so blocks air flow or traps heat, causing a wide range of problems such as carbon monoxide buildup, fires, or general damage to the appliance.

You also should avoid using aluminum foil pieces on the racks to catch the grease. This is because it has been shown to lead to grease pooling and as a result, the foil tends to bend and eventually spill.

If you need to prevent the grease from getting on your oven, you should use a real pan instead.

Keep an eye on the pans

For the food to heat up fast, you may want to make the pans as hot as possible. There is nothing wrong with this, as long as you keep a close eye on them.

You should note that when the pan is on high heat with nothing or with just oil on it, it’s bound to heat up very quickly, which can be a fire risk as the oil or grease or even the lining on the pan ignites.

When you are looking to get the pan very hot, whether on the stovetop or in the oven, you should use a carbon steel or cast iron pan. When doing it, ensure that the pan doesn’t have any wood or plastic parts.

As mentioned above, when heating the pan, keep a close eye on it.

Invest in a fire extinguisher

Even with all the fire safety tips in place, fire is bound to come about. For you to be able to put it off as soon as it comes about, appliance repair Alexandria professionals recommend that you have a fire extinguisher in place.

For ideal results, you should have a class B type of fire extinguisher. Having the extinguisher in place isn’t enough, it should be properly maintained so that it can be ready in the event of a fire.

Appliance Repair Tips On How To Use Your Oven

While the oven has been around for a long time and almost every household has one, most people don’t know how to properly use it. To help you out, here are tips given by appliance repair professionals on how to go about it:

Defrost the food first

What do most people do when they are cooking meat and other foods? They take the foods directly from the freezer to the oven. Don’t do this. In addition to the food not tasting good enough, it often takes longer to cook. Experts report that you also end up spending up to 30% more energy to cook frozen food than when you would cook it defrosted.

For you to save on energy and keep your food tasting good, you should always defrost the food before you put it in the oven.

Keep it clean

This is a no-brainer. You need to keep your oven clean all the time. This not only keeps it looking great, it also increases the efficiency of the unit. For you to have an easy time keeping it clean, you should get rid of any dirt as soon as you notice it.

Are there burnt-in stains in your unit that you would like to get rid of? You can easily get rid of them by using a rinsing agent. All you need to do is to pour a rinsing agent into a bowl of water and place it in the oven at 100 degrees Celsius for at least an hour.

After an hour has elapsed, you should be able to easily get rid of the stubborn stains by swiping them off with a wet piece of cloth.

You should note that the best time to clean the appliance is when it’s cool. Avoid cleaning it when hot as you will cause irreversible discoloration of the enamel.

Aim at saving as much energy as possible

When you are running the oven, you shouldn’t spend a lot of energy. In addition to ensuring that the food is properly cooked, you also should keep an eye on your electricity needs. As rule of thumb, you should strive to keep your bill as low as possible.

You can do this by doing a number of things. One of the things you can do is to turn off the appliance once you are done with your cooking. Experts also observe that you can save even more when you turn off the unit before the stipulated cooking time.

This calls for you to switch off your oven at least 10 minutes before the time that you had set elapses and let the food stand for the remaining time. By doing this, you will save 10-25 % of your electricity bill.

You will also save some energy by placing multiple items in the unit. For example, you can put baked or roasted potatoes in the oven at the same time. You can also throw in your dessert while cooking your dinner.

It’s common to want to see how your baking is coming along. You should resist the urge to open the oven door. You should note that when you open the door, you tend to lose up to 25 degrees which increases your energy bill.

The best way of going about it is sticking to your timer and oven light. If you want to know how things are going, use your nose but don’t open the unit.

Always use the right rack

Plenty of ovens have been ruined from using the wrong rack. Do you want your unit to last for a long time? You should use the right rack. Using the right rack also leads to proper cooking of the food.

The top rack is meant for food that is meant to be cooked at high temperature. You also should use this rack when you are looking to quickly cook the food.

The middle rack is best used for moderate temperature cooking while the bottom rack is ideal for slow cooking and low temperatures.

While you are at it, you should use the right baking dishes. You should note that glass and ceramic dishes tend to hold the heat much better than their metal counterparts.

Even with the best care, it’s common for the oven to develop problems. When this happens, you should contact an oven repair Alexandria professional to help you in fixing it.

5 Oven Repair And Maintenance Tips

oven repair

Do you have an oven in your home or place of work? You need to take good care of it. To help you out, here are tips on how to go about it as given by oven repair professionals:

Clean the oven

This is a no-brainer but you will be worried by the number of people that don’t clean their appliances as well as they are supposed to. You should clean your oven at the end of every day where you should dust it off and get rid of any spills that might have come about.

In addition to the daily cleaning, you also should undertake a thorough cleaning at least once a year. Here you should hire a professional to clean your unit and give it a perfect look.

Most of the ovens have a self-cleaning feature but you should be cautious about how you use it. While the feature gives the oven a great look, it puts a lot of stress on the unit. In some cases, it triggers an electrical failure.

For you to be safe when using the feature, carefully go through the safety guidelines and instructions. During self-cleaning, the oven tends to produce a lot of heat; therefore, you will be better off cleaning your appliance during winter.

Keep aluminum foil out of the oven

Most people cover their food with aluminum foil then go ahead and put the aluminum covered food in the oven. This is wrong. You should note that the foil tends to reflect heat and it can throw too much or too little heat at the temperature sensor.

What is the end result of this? The food can be over or undercooked. The aluminum foil has also been shown to ruin the drip pans in the event you put it under the surface units. Putting the foil under the oven also triggers the foil to melt. This can damage the oven or even create a fire hazard.

Are you using a gas oven? The foil can cover up the vents leading to a buildup of carbon monoxide.

Do you want to keep your oven in top condition? Don’t use the aluminum foil at all. This calls for you to uncover the food before placing it in the oven.

Pay attention to the blower

The blower is one of the most integral parts of the oven; therefore, you need to ensure that it’s in top condition all the time. One of the most effective ways of keeping it in good shape is lubricating it regularly.

The type and quality of oil you use in the lubrication is of great impact; therefore, always ensure that you use a high-quality one that will not only provide the best lubrication, but one that won’t require you to keep on reapplying.

Failure of lubricating the parts as you are supposed to put your oven at the risk of grinding to an abrupt stop. The oven can also damage other vital parts which will be an added cost on your part.

Don’t use the oven a heat source

During winter it’s common for some people to put on their ovens and use them as sources of heat. This is wrong. you should note that the oven heat doesn’t circulate well through the home and it can even be dangerous to you and your family.

If you have a gas oven, the unit might produce carbon monoxide that can rise to toxic levels, putting you and your family at great risk of suffocation.

Unless you have food that you want to cook, you should never start the oven. If you need to warm the house, use a furnace or chimney.

Undertake regular inspections

Just like any other appliance you might be having in your home, you need to regularly inspect it for any issues it might be having. At least once a year, hire an appliance repair Alexandria professional to inspect the unit and fix any issues if present.

The contractor should inspect all parts including:

  • Thermocouples
  • Port inserts
  • Door gaskets
  • Mounting and slide assemblies
  • Any other parts.

For you to get the most from the contractor, ensure that you hire a certified and highly experienced professional. The last thing you want is someone who will end up damaging your unit instead of fixing it.